268 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. IX. No. 216. 



cal considerations. The position was first of- 

 offered to Mr. Herbert Putnam, head of the 

 Boston Public Library. 



Professoe William Osler, F.R.S., of the 

 Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, has ac- 

 cepted an invitation to deliver the Cavendish 

 lecture for 1899, before the West London 

 Medico- Chirurgi cal Society. 



The report is circulated that the remains of 

 Andr6e and his companions and the car of the 

 balloon have been found between Kemo and 

 Pit, in the province of Yeniseisk, Siberia. 



Dr. R. F. Claus, the eminent zoologist pro- 

 fessor in the University of Vienna, has died at 

 the age of 63 years. 



The Loudon Times announces the death of 

 the Rev. Thomas Hincks, F.R.S., at Clifton, on 

 January 26th. He was the son of the late Rev. 

 William Hincks, F.L.S., and was born at 

 Exeter in 1818. He was for many years a Uni- 

 tarian minister, but had a wide reputation as an 

 authority in several departments of marine zo- 

 ology, being the author of a history of the 

 British Hydroid Zoophytes, published in 1868, 

 and a history of the British Marine Polyzoa, 

 published in 1889. Both these books are 

 largely the results of his own investigations. 

 He was elected into the Royal Society in 1872, 

 and continued to be an active worker in science 

 until very lately. 



We regret also to record the death of Dr. 

 Hampe, professor of chemistry in the School of 

 Mines at Clausthal, aged 57 years. 



The House Committee on Appropriations has 

 recommended an increase of $4,200 in the an- 

 nual appropriation for scientific work of the 

 United States Fish Commission ; the entire 

 amount now available for the Department of 

 Scientific Inquiry being $15,000. This increase 

 is the more gratifying since it is made after an 

 examination of the practical results that have 

 attended the lines of scientific research carried 

 on during the past year. 



A BILL has been introduced into the New 

 York Assembly appropriating $30,000 to con- 

 tinue the promotion of the sugar beet industry, 

 of which $2,500 is devoted to making experi- 

 ments by the Commissioner of Agriculture. 



The American Mathematical Society will 

 hold a regular meeting in Room 301 of Fayer- 

 weather Hall, Columbia University, on Satur- 

 day, February 25th. The two sessions begin at 

 10:30 a. m. and 2:30 p. m. 



At the annual meeting of the Washington 

 Academy of Sciences recently held, the follow- 

 ing officers were elected for the ensuing year : 

 President, Chas. D. Walcott ; Vice-Presidents : 

 Anthropological Society, W J McGee ; Biolog- 

 ical Society, F. V. Coville ; Chemical Society, 

 H. N. Stokes ; Entomological Society, Dr. H. 

 G. Dyar ; Geographic Society, G. K. Gilbert ; 

 Historical Society, A. R. Spofford ; Medical So- 

 ciety, Dr. S. C. Busey ; Philosophical Society, 

 O. H. Tittmann ; Secretarj^, Frank Baker ; 

 Treasurer, Bernard R. Green ; Managers : Class 

 of 1902 : L. O. Howard, J. W. Powell, Carroll 

 D. Wright ; Class of 1901 : Marcus Baker, 

 Henry S. Pritchett, Geo. M. Sternberg; Class 

 of 1900 : F. W. Clarke, C. Hart Merriam, Les- 

 ter F. Ward. The Academy has arranged for 

 a cour.<e of popular lectures on scientific sub- 

 jects to be given during the months of March 

 and April. A number of demonstrations will 

 also be given on topics of special interest. The 

 first of these was held on the evening of January 

 31st, and related to Developments in the Art of 

 Recording and Reproducing Sounds, with an ex- 

 hibition of the new graphophone recently per- 

 fected in the Volta Bureau of Mr. Alex. Graham 

 Bell. A welcome donation to the Academy 

 was recently made by Mrs. Gardiner Hubbard, 

 who in view of the life- long interest in science 

 shown by her deceased husband, presented the 

 sum of $1,000 as a token of her desire to aid in 

 the advancement of science and the union of 

 the scientific interests in Washington. The 

 Academy showed its appreciation of her gener- 

 osity by at once electing her a patron. Ar- 

 rangements have been made for the publication 

 of the Proceedings of the Academy. The 

 ' brochure ' plan will be adopted, each separate 

 to have its own pagination as well as that of 

 the volume, and to be dated with the actual 

 date of delivery to members. Several papers 

 have already been presented for publication, 

 and it is evident that more funds than are at 

 present available could advantageously be spent 

 for this purpose. 



